Camera Obscura
by ShatteredLyre
Summary: Life was better through the viewfinder. Safer. Or at least that's what he thought until he saw what he was missing on the other side of the lens. Alternate summary: Photography! Affairs! And lots of coffee!
1. Razzle Dazzle Rose

**A/N**: The Facts:

Part I of the _Wild Young Hearts_ cycle I was blabbering about earlier.

Featured Pairing: Lyserg/Jeanne

Side Pairings: Yoh/Anna, Ren/Pirika, Horo/Tamao

Title: _Camera Obscura _(as in the band. You know.)

I should be updating YatO or starting Mismatched Adventures. Instead, you get **_THIS_**. YAY.

* * *

_He was walking down an empty street. Everything seemed so familiar—the buildings, the trees, the flowers—but where he was exactly always managed to just elude the grasp of his searching mind. He came to a café that he could swear his life on he had seen before several times. And there she was again. Her long hair swayed as she turned around to greet him like she always did, to ask where they would be going today, what they would be doing, her lips beginning to curl upwards into a smile and he reached for the camera around his neck and—_

"Hyuck, ughhh, what the—" Lyserg spat whatever had begun to block his throat out onto the cheap flimsy tray table in front of him. Six bags of peanuts, three packets of artificial sweetener, one moist hand towelette, and a box of crackers. "How the _hell_ did you manage to fit all of that into my mouth. Actually on second thought…" he held up a hand to silence Horohoro's inevitable _That's what she said!_ _Badum-bshh_.

He pouted. "But it's so boring. You and Joco fell asleep an hour ago and I've had _nothing _to do!" Horohoro whined as he bounced up and down in his seat, acting more like a grade school child than a twenty-one year old man. "If I just got this pair of headphones in, it would've been a new record!" He held up a disposable set of complimentary headphones the stewardesses had distributed earlier. Lyserg looked past him at Joco who was still blissfully snoring with a whole array of standard airline commodities stuffed into his mouth.

"You are _insane_." Lyserg's eyes twitched as Horohoro shrugged. "I'm going back to sleep." He reached for the pitiful tiny sack of synthetic fabric that was supposed to be a free pillow and turned towards the window.

"No!" Horohoro's hand shot forward to shake Lyserg out of any remaining drowsiness. "Do you want me to try to see if you can swallow my carry on in your sleep?" The green haired man sighed and shook his head, wincing as he thought of Horohoro's bulky backpack being crammed down his throat. "Anyways, it's just natural for me to be excited! We're gonna be seeing Ren and Yoh soon!" His face broke into a grin. "It's been like, what, seven years?" Lyserg could have bet money that Horohoro would've flown off his seat if he hadn't stopped jumping up and down. He had to reassure several concerned onlookers that his friend was not, in fact, having a seizure (although, watching Horohoro made even Lyserg doubt his own words).

"Well, we're not going to be seeing much of them. What with Yoh's new job and…" Lyserg's voice trailed off as he realized that he didn't actually know what Ren was up to that would be keeping him so busy. He was extremely vague in his response to Lyserg's email. "And…whatever Ren is doing." Horohoro was too busy attempting a new record with Joco to be listening to Lyserg. He rolled his eyes and looked out the window as Japan, robed in clouds, shifted into view below. _That dream…that's the third time this week it's happened. Who is that girl? It feels like…I know her. Like I'm _supposed _to know her._ Lyserg closed his eyes. _I don't know very many other girls my age that look like—_

Joco awoke with something between a snort and a choke and instinctively punched Horohoro in the arm. "Dude! Not cool!" They promptly engaged in a shoving fight.

Lyserg sighed. "This is going to be a long trip."

* * *

Joco stretched his back and groaned. "You have. No idea. How good. It feels. To be back!"

Yoh glanced at his rear view mirror and smiled at his three friends. "And it's good to have you guys back! I wish I could hang out with you more but the semester starts next week already." He frowned a bit.

"Aw, don't worry about it, man." Horohoro reached forward to slap his friend on the back. "We all got business to attend to anyways."

Yoh raised an eyebrow in pleasant surprise. "Oh? Really? What would that be?"

"Well, I'm going to the mountains—"

"To go snowboarding again? That's hardly any work, Horohoro…" Lyserg teased.

"_Actually_, this time I'm monitoring the wildlife there. For _work_," he snapped defensively.

"Hey, maybe you'll see Tamao there! She's still working at the lodge during winters I think," Yoh pointed out.

Horohoro cocked his head. "Who's—" He sneezed. "Er, what was I talking about again?" Lyserg looked at him and shrugged. "Damnit! I hate it when that happens."

"What about you, Lyserg?"

"Erm, I just got an acceptance letter for Marco's student photography program so—"

"Marco? As in _the_ Marco who is so famous that he doesn't use a last name anymore and has his photographs that are displayed in international galleries?" Yoh asked excitedly. "To be accepted in his program is a really big deal, Horohoro and Joco."

"Really? That's awesome, man!" Horohoro and Joco smiled at him.

Lyserg merely stared at them. "I told you all of this two weeks ago!"

Joco shrugged. "You expect _us_ to be cultured enough to know all of this?"

"Joco, what are you doing here?"

"I decided just to tag along—"

Horohoro slapped his hand over Joco's mouth. "He usually bums off of me and Lyserg to give him a place to stay since he's too much of a starving artist to make it on his own."

"Being a renowned stand up comedian is hard work, okay?" Joco crossed his arms and slumped back into his seat.

"If by 'renowned' you mean that you work at second rate charity events and office team building exercises, then sure," Lyserg explained dryly.

"Haters gonna hate, Yoh. Haters gonna hate," Joco lamented sadly.

"Where's Ren?" Lyserg piped up.

"Eh, I was hoping he'd be with you guys when I picked you up but…" Yoh sighed. "Who knows what's up with him, nowadays. Ever since we graduated from high school, I'd be lucky to hear from him once a year. And they were mostly one sentence long emails. Last I heard, he was still jetting around the world to all the major cities, being all big shot business man. Oh, to be a Tao…" They all laughed.

"What a loser. Doesn't he know that we're still friends?" Horohoro asked, half-jokingly, half-serious. "Hmmm…maybe he found a lady friend and they got married!"

Joco burst out into a fit of giggles. "Aw, man! That was a good one. Maybe _you _should be the comedian and _I _should be the tree hugger." Horohoro grinned.

"Hey, you never know," Yoh mused, gently stepping on the gas as the light turned green.

"Seriously, Yoh? That guy's personality is as sweet as vinegar. Which is to say, not at all."

"You never know," Yoh repeated smilingly.

Horohoro whipped around and mouthed out _Does he know something_?

Lyserg shrugged as Joco mouthed back _Please. Do you actually think it's possible for Ren to do that? Maybe if the girl was blind and deaf and mute so that she couldn't refuse his proposal._

_What? That was too long a sentence_.

"You guys, I can see you, you know. And if you were wondering, no, I don't know anything."

Both Joco and Horohoro heaved heavy sighs of relief. "You got us scared for a second there, man!" Lyserg rolled his eyes.

"And here we are!" Yoh pulled into the driveway of the house where the four boys had spent the overwhelming majority of their childhoods and teenage years together. He stepped out of the car, slipping his keys into his pocket. "Amidamaru! Everyone's here!"

* * *

Lyserg wasted no time and in just a week he was able to convert his guest quarters into a makeshift dark room. He knew that if he wanted to make it as a photographer, he'd have to stand out in Marco's program. And to do that, he had to get straight down to work. "In hindsight, trying to develop pictures in the same house as Joco and Horohoro probably isn't the best of ideas," he muttered to himself as he submerged his photographic paper into a chemical bath. He heard a frantic padding of footsteps approach the sliding door.

"Lyserg! We're all going out later for dinner and stuff. You in?" Horohoro poked his head into the room, allowing Lyserg's greatest enemy in photo developing to flood the room (aka light). "Er, crap. You were working, huh? Did I ruin your pictures?"

"Just one, thank God. And it was the picture you took on the plane of Joco. So no losses." Lyserg wiped his hands onto his pants. "Yet."

Horohoro wasn't paying attention. "That's cool. So, you coming with us or what?" He leaned on the door frame, eagerly awaiting his friend's response. "We can find you a girl or something while we're out and workin' the town! Whaddya say?" He grinned.

Lyserg pulled at his collar as he went back to work. He never liked talking about girls or his (lack of a) love life with his friends. It always made him uncomfortable considering he hadn't really spoken much to any member of the female race in elementary school, high school or even college (even though at each stage of his life, he somehow managed to accumulate a large base of fan girls). "I think I'll pass this time."

Horohoro let out an obnoxious sigh. "But that's what you _always_ say. You never let yourself have any fun, man! Learn to live a little." Lyserg smiled and shook his head. "Come on! You'll probably end up having a good time."

He went back to work, blatantly ignoring his friend. "There isn't any harm…" He held up the film to study it. "In playing it safe. It saves you a whole world of hurt."

"But it's also way more boring." He shrugged as he saw Lyserg wasn't having any of it. "Your loss." He slid the door closed and Lyserg heard the pattering of his footsteps, a pause and a shout that indicated Horohoro sliding down the wooden floor of the hallway in his socks.

"Lyserg, you _sure_ you don't want to go out with us?" Joco called as they exited the door. He remained silent. "Well, we'll be back in a few hours then!"

Lyserg smirked and rolled his eyes. "Romance can wait. I need to focus on my career first." He wasn't sure if he was saying it to state the obvious or to convince himself.

But sometimes one doesn't need to actively seek love out to find it.

* * *

"Hello, Lyserg," Marco said as his student entered his office. "Take a seat." He pulled out a file that had Lyserg's name written across it in neat, uniform black letters. "So let's discuss what we're going to be doing here for the next few months. We're going to be trying to build up your portfolio that you can submit to many of your future employers while also working to improve upon your skills so that you can develop more as a—"

Lyserg had stopped listening quite a while back as he focused on what Marco was wearing. Thanks to his very modern glass desk he could see that the famous photographer was wearing a form fitting white dress shirt and extremely short black leather shorts. _Those could give Daisy Duke a run for her money_.

"—first assignment will be due next week for review by myself and the rest of the staff. Any questions?" Lyserg perked up as he realized that he hadn't been paying attention at all. He simply shook his head. "Good. Now go out there and take some pictures." The older man smiled as he waved Lyserg out.

_Crap, what was my assignment. I wasn't listening. My first big project and I have no clue what I'm doing. I guess I could just go around town and take pictures. I'm bound to get a few photos that he was asking for._ Lyserg gripped his camera around his neck.

He blinked as he exited onto the streets of downtown Tokyo, his ears initially overwhelmed by the amount of sheer _noise_ inundated him. _That's funny. It wasn't nearly this busy when I came here this morning…granted, I _did_ come here at eight when no one else was around._ Marco was nefariously infamous for running extremely late, this reputation of his further supported by the fact that Lyserg had only gotten out of the meeting at one in the afternoon. _Might as well start with something simple._ He turned around to angle a shot of the huge X-LAWS sign made out of twisted metal, glass and wood on the side of the building.

_Maybe they'll use it for some of their advertising propaganda_. He chuckled at the prospect as he began walking. _If they ever used that picture…I'd be set for life_. X-LAWS was a huge arts and entertainment company where they recruited, trained, and marketed young talent. Like Meene Montgomery and Chris Benstar, the dynamic married couple, who worked with musicians. And a man named Luchist who trained singers. And someone who scouted out painters and artists and yet another who recruited dancers. And, of course, Marco who helped photographers like Lyserg.

"Hey!" He was suddenly jolted out of his train of thought by a mob of busy pedestrians. _Better find an easier place to take some pictures._ He aimlessly wound his way through the jungle otherwise known as prime time downtown Tokyo, taking random pictures of city life as he went on his way. He only slowed down once he noticed that the crowds had thinned and he had entered a quieter side street farther away from the business district and closer to suburbia.

Suddenly, fatigue hit him like a bullet train and he had to get to the nearest coffee shop. Café. Restaurant. Anywhere that sold caffeine-y goodness in cheap paper cups. Fortunately enough for him, he was just a block away from a quaint little café that had tried so hard to look like it was European but fell just a little short of its intended image. He smiled and slowly lifted his camera up and clicked. But right before his finger had completely depressed the button, a solitary figure stepped into the shot. He saw her through the viewfinder and, unable to believe what he was seeing, he hurriedly lowered the camera and full on stared. _It's…the girl from my dream._ And there she was, silver hair and all, standing right before him. _Big deal_. It's a sign. _No, it's not_. Yes, it is, Lyserg. _No, it's not, you stupid author!_ What I say goes.

"Usually I would report suspicious men taking pictures of me to the police but…" Lyserg blinked rapidly as he realized that she was talking. To _him._ And was smiling. _At_ him. "There are always exceptions."

"Er…I'm sorry for…" He wildly gesticulated with his hands in a vain effort to convey what he was trying to say. "I was taking…a picture…yes? Of the café sign and…I suppose you were…in the frame?" He decided to shut up and, not knowing what else to do with his arms, rigidly pinned them against his body.

She merely laughed. "I had guessed as much. Don't worry, I'm only teasing." She stuck out her hand. "Jeanne D'Fer."

If Lyserg was smooth to any extent or had any balls whatsoever he would've taken her outstretched hand and kissed it. But he was Lyserg so he lamely shook hands with her. "Lyserg Diethel."

"Lyserg Diethel," she repeated, testing the consonants and vowels out as if she were speaking for the first time. "How charmingly…non-Japanese."

"British. Jeanne D'Fer." He quirked at eyebrow at her as he thought. "How fittingly…"

"French." She looked expectantly at him.

"So, uh…" _Why is she looking at me like that? Am I supposed to be doing something? Saying something?_ "Is the coffee any good here?"

If he had any experience with the opposite sex whatsoever, he could have sworn that her face fell just a bit. But still Lyserg was Lyserg and always will _be _Lyserg (as afore mentioned) so he was completely oblivious. "I suppose it is but their mocha lattes are a little flat tasting…"

"Oh, that's fine then. I usually just have a house coffee anyways." He awkwardly dropped his camera, feeling incredibly stupid as it bounced to a stop around his neck, still unable to shake the feeling that she was expecting something from him. "Nice to meet you." He attempted to walk away quickly, only to stumble over his own feet. She sighed softly and went back to her people watching as he went inside, looking exactly the same as she had before.

Only this time, her mouth was frowning ever so slightly.

* * *

**A/N**: something....new. It's always something new with me. Eh. Review? Send me some LysergJeanne love that is so rare on nowadays? You know you want to =)


	2. Country Mile

Lyserg couldn't help it. He knew that the chances of seeing her were very small. He knew that he had somehow offended her. He knew that he had made somewhat of a complete fool of himself. He knew that when it came down to the last second, the scoreboard would read Lyserg: 0, Female race: 100,000. But still, he couldn't help it.

He went back to the café.

He was drawn to it. Lyserg, the king of playing it safe, would like to think that the Divine Being Up There That Makes Shit Happen actually cared enough to tap him on the shoulder once in a while and point him in the general direction he was to go. And the invisible, almost instinctive pull that small little coffee shop had on him felt like a glowing neon traffic sign that screamed, COME THIS WAY. So he did the one thing he promised he'd never do and put his career on hold for a millisecond. _For coffee_, he justified in his head. _Just for coffee._

The nagging little part of him that reveled in being correct snapped back, _You probably passed by twenty different coffee shops and stands on the way to the café. Admit it._

_Admit what?_ he tried blocking it out.

_Oh, don't even try that with me. You want to see _her_ again, don't you? What was your saying?_ the snarky voice in him sneered.

He inwardly sighed. _Career first. Everything else later. _He stood up a little straighter. _But is it so bad that I'm not working on my portfolio for about ten minutes for once? Don't I deserve a break?_

_No. No, you do not._ He rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets, oblivious to the stares he was getting from every girl (and even some guys) he walked by on the sidewalk.

_Coffee, just coffee. And maybe a pastry. Or a cookie. Or a croissant. Or a sandwich. I'm hungry now. A cup of anything is totally harmless, right—_ his mental voice choked when he saw a cascade of silver hair flash in the sunlight. His heart began flipping and jumping around like a high school cheerleader on too much sugar. _She's here! She's here!_ _She's—wait, what do I say?_ He skidded to a halt as he remembered his less than graceful exit last time and the disappointment etched on her face when he had walked away. _I might want to try thinking about what I'm going to say for once. What will I—_

"Lyserg!" Jeanne had turned around and saw him staring at the ground, one of his eyes twitching madly. She waved and a smile spread across her face.

Lyserg felt like someone had delivered a rather well placed left hook into his stomach. "Hi…Jeanne," he managed to gasp out.

She pouted. "Don't tell me you forgot my name already. It's only been a day. I feel sorry for your girlfriend." Her mouth set into a firm line for a second. "You probably never remember her birthday."

He laughed bitterly. "_What_ girlfriend? I never had one and from the looks of it, I never will." He sat down, exhaling.

Her mouth parted into an O of surprise and her eyes widened. "Ah, you're not…oh…"

"Hm?" He looked up and cocked his head slightly. "Wh—" His own eyes widened as well. "Oh. No." They both cleared their throats. "I mean, there's nothing wrong with being—"

She waved her hand, evidently flustered. "Oh, no, not at all—"

"It's just that I'm—"

"You're not—"

"You know, of course—"

"I understand what—"

"It's just that—"

"Yes—" They both looked at each other and laughed. "Oh, dear," Jeanne said in between giggles. "So you're…"

"I do like girls. It's just that I'm not very…experienced in the actual initiative part." He scratched the back of his neck. "Why am I even telling you this. It's rather boring and you probably—"

"No!" She bit her lip. "I mean, it isn't boring to me." She leaned forward as she drummed her fingers onto the top of the table they were sitting at. "So Mr. Diethel, what are you doing here in Japan of all places? Quite a ways from England, isn't it?" Her eyes were softly laughing at him. "Aside from taking pictures of hapless young females on the street, of course."

His face began burning up. "Er, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to—" She smiled and waved her hand, dismissing it. "I actually am here for…this." He held up his camera. "I'm a photographer."

"So you've been taking pictures?" she asked excitedly. "May I?"

He shrugged and handed her his camera. "Sure."

As she was clicking though all the pictures he had taken so far she asked, "So you just thought that Japan would look nice this time of year or…?"

"I was accepted into a photography program based here."

"Oh?" She pursed her lips, further paling and her eyes widening as she came across one of his photos. She folded her hands and placed the camera on the table. Lyserg stole a glance and saw that the picture she had seen was the one of the X-LAWS sign he had taken the other day. The petite girl looked like a cross between intrigued and worried…but what did Lyserg know anyhow? "And, ah, which program would that be?" She gave a forced smile.

"Marco's, or as many other people know him, Marco-I'm-so-famous-I-don't-use-a-last-name-anymore."

To his surprise, she laughed very loudly and very uncontrollably. Strange, because he had thought she was one of _those_ types: elegant, refined, composed. You know. Also, what he had said wasn't very funny to begin with. "That's…so…_true_!" she giggled out between bursts.

"Erm…so you know of him?" Lyserg shifted uncomfortably as if he were witnessing a private, inside joke she was having with herself. And he wasn't invited.

She straightened up, all traces of her former outburst gone. "You could say that I suppose…" Her voice became muffled by the end of her statement as she raised her paper cup to her lips.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Why are you here? Japan is rather far from France as well."

Her face fell. "Ah, about that, I'm here for…um…leisure."

Lyserg smiled. Finally, something he wouldn't be awkward with. "Really? If you want I could show you around. I know the city pretty well, considering I moved here when I was fourteen."

She looked relieved at the changing of the subject. "That would be very nice, thank you. So if you moved here, then why did you…?"

"Got a job back in England. Milled around in London for a bit. And then I realized that I just couldn't stay away from Tokyo that long. Then my friends decided they were going to have a reunion this year and I thought, why not move back totally? So there you go. The last few years of my life in a nutshell."

"Friends? Like high school friends?"

"Childhood friends that I just so happened to go to high school with as well?" She laughed. "Didn't get to see them much during college, considering we were all in different countries…"

She had been nodding the entire time. "College? How old are you exactly, Mr. Diethel?"

He suddenly became very aware of how huge he was compared to her tiny size and he crossed his fingers under the table. "Twenty-one going on twenty-two." He found it hard to gauge her response. "And you?"

"Nineteen going on twenty."

He exhaled in relief, letting his head hang over a bit. By doing this, his eyes rested on his watch. "Ah, shoot!"

She tilted her head in concern. "What's wrong?"

He scooted backwards furiously, the legs of his chair almost sure to leave permanent scars on the cemented sidewalk. "I'm late. I'm supposed to be meeting up with the guys…" He grabbed his coat and camera. "I'm very sorry." He bowed very formally as he stuttered out the remainder of his apology.

"It's quite alright. Will I be seeing you again tomorrow, Mr. Diethel? Or am I becoming too much of a burden to you already?" She smiled and leaned forward, stretching across the table rather feline-like as his face colored. "I tend to have that effect on people."

_You have no idea…_ "You're never a burden."

* * *

"What's the matter with him?"

"I seriously think he's broken."

"He's never been like this before."

"Maybe the muscles in his face were paralyzed when it happened."

"That would explain a lot, actually."

"Hey do you think he'd snap out of it if I…"

"Argh! What the hell, you two?" Lyserg reeled back after Joco had shoved a live fish down his shirt. "Where did you even find this…" he asked, extracting the poor trout from his dress shirt.

Joco shrugged. "I don't know. One of the many hidden talents of a slapstick comedian, I suppose."

Lyserg banged his forehead against the table he was sitting at.

"Hey." Horohoro put his face an inch away from Lyserg's. "You were smiling. For twenty-two minutes and seven seconds straight." The green haired young man regarded him skeptically. Horohoro pulled out a stopwatch. "I was counting. _Anyways_, tell me." He backed away from the table, slamming his palms down on the wooden surface.

"Tell you _what_?"

"Why you were smiling for such a freakishly long time!" Horohoro threw up his hands as if he had asked an obvious question. "You're never like this. Mr. Play-It-Safe. Mr. Career-First-Social-Life-Later. Mr. I'm-Too-Tense-For-My-Own-Good—"

"Okay, okay. I get your point already. Sheesh."

"And you can't tell me that you're _this_ happy because of the program."

"I just had a good day. Is it so bad that I'm happy because I had a good day?" Lyserg groaned as he saw that both Joco and Horohoro looked like they were on the verge of exploding.

"Yes! Of course it is! Well, it wouldn't be that bad if you just told us _why_…" Joco played around with his goggles. "One of us already stopped all communication…" Horohoro frowned and nodded.

"Come on, I'm not going to end up like Ren now," Lyserg protested. "Is that what you two are so worried about?" They nodded sadly. "Really…" They nodded even more profusely. "Okay, fine. I suppose I've met someone. Happy now?"

Their heads flew up. "Someone?"

"Would this someone happen to be not male?"

"As in _female_?"

"As in Lyserg-boy has finally met a girl?"

"Your hormones _do_ work!"

"And I've only known her for two days, that's hardly anything to get excited about. For all we know, she might already be seeing someone—" Lyserg tried to explain in vain.

"You _do_ like girls! For the past few years, we thought that we'd have to set you up with Ryu!"

_WHAT_. "R-R-Ryu?" Lyserg managed to spit out. "_Why_?" Troubling images of the very flamboyantly out Ryu came back to haunt him.

"Well, we just figured that you weren't into girls. Nothing wrong with that."

"And he's the only dude that we know who digs both girls and other guys…"

"We just want you to be happy is all." Horohoro and Joco crossed their arms and nodded.

Lyserg could've stabbed himself in the face. But he was too tired. _Great, I've been mistaken for being gay by three people in one day_… He was pitying himself so much that he didn't notice that Yoh had come into the room.

"Hey, Yoh! Guess what! Lyserg has _met_ a girl! Remember, we always thought he'd end up with a guy?" He heard Yoh laugh as he probably _did_ remember that.

_Four. Four people in one day. Really? Is my sexuality _that _ambiguous_? "Can we just leave already…?"

Yoh ceased his laughter. "Yeah, it's Horohoro last day here for a while. Let's make the most of it."

Horohoro grinned. "Don't think you're off the hook tonight though, Diethel."

_Super. Just super._

* * *

"Hey. _Hey_. _HEY!_ Quiet down, e'ryone! I'd like to proposhe a toasht," Horohoro slurred as he climbed on top of the counter, causing half of the usually busy bar to go quiet. "It's my last day here and—" he hiccupped. "And I just wanted to tell you guysh that…you're all the _besht_." He precariously wavered back and forth, holding his cup out. "And Lysherg…has a _girlfriend_! Good for you, _man_. Good for you."

Lyserg's eyes appeared to be in danger of falling out of his sockets. "_Someone. Get. Him. Down._" Many of the bar's patrons turned around smilingly and gave him a thumbs-up.

"That's the danger of growing up in Funbari Hill. Everyone knew, knows, and always _will_ know you." Yoh clapped him on the back.

Joco had managed to sling the clearly plastered Horohoro over his shoulder. "Can we throw him in the dumpster? Please?"

"So much maturity, Joco."

"Oh, shut up, Lyserg. I want my revenge for him nearly choking me to death on the plane!"

Yoh laughed. "I already think Horohoro's employers won't be very thrilled that he has a hangover tomorrow. Making him smell like garbage too might be crossing the line."

Joco's face fell as he frowned. "Aw, fine. Maybe next time." He took the drunken man outside.

Yoh propped his chin up with his hand, his elbow resting on his knee. "Where's Ren…"

"Who knows. He should've been here. Horohoro is already leaving for quite a while. He should've been here for this." Lyserg shook his head. "How's work?"

Yoh laughed tiredly. "Oh boy…where to begin. Let's just say my boss is really…something."

Lyserg furrowed his brows. "Lady Sati? Isn't she the 'most Zen person on the face of this planet,' as Joco put it?"

"Not her, not her. My other boss. The head of the English department. Don't even get me started on that one." Yoh raised his eyebrows. "But it's good for the most part. My kids are awesome and really look like they want to learn. Lady Sati is pretty happy that I'm bringing in some different teaching techniques. They're doing a comparative review of me and the other teacher. My boss." Yoh rubbed his hands together. "You?"

"The program's great but—"

"You'd rather be spending more time with the girl you met," the Asakura heir finished for him.

Lyserg snapped his mouth shut. "How…?"

"It happens." Yoh smiled. "I've been there." He stood up. "Let's get Horohoro cleaned up so he doesn't look like a complete mess tomorrow. Hope the folks in Hokkaido don't think all of us in Tokyo are like him."

* * *

"Hmm?" Amidamaru looked up from the dishes he was washing as the phone rang. He wiped his water sodden hands on the apron (the frilly one was the only apron that wasn't in the wash at the time) and picked up the plastic handset. "Hello?"

"_Yoh_. No, wait. Oh, hello, Amidamaru." The voice sounded bored.

"M-Master Ren?" Amidamaru nearly dropped the phone. "Master Ren! It has been such a long time—"

"Yeah, yeah. Tell Yoh that I'll be coming in a few weeks. Something came up."

"But you were due here more than a week ago—"

"_Tell him_." The phone went silent.

Amidamaru sighed. "Always the charmer." He was about to resume cleaning the plates when he heard the front door open.

"Hey, Amidamaru, we're home! And Horohoro's drunk. Do you have anything for his hangover?" Yoh pulled the clearly inebriated young man in question into the kitchen.

"I certainly do." Yoh's caretaker of the past twenty-odd years turned around to assemble his famous and effective hangover treatment. "By the way, Master Ren called just a few minutes ago…" he reported nonchalantly as he mixed together Tabasco and egg yolks in a glass.

"Ren? What did he say?" Yoh watched as Amidamaru added some jalapeños.

"You should expect his arrival in a few weeks."

"How many—"

"That is exactly and all he said before he hung up. You know how he is…" Amidamaru frowned as he chopped up some onions and threw them into the slush-filled cup. "There. Now all you have to is force-feed all of this to him and he should be all cleared up by the morning, guaranteed."

Joco grinned. "Now _this_ is what I call revenge! Open wide, Ainu boy!" He was met with a muffled shriek of protest from Horohoro.

* * *

**A/N**: Review please? =)

theme song of the first chapters of this story: Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? by She & Him

theme song of the later chapters of this story: Sweet Disposition by Temper Trap


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